Luke 4:12

4:12 You must not test the Lord your God: In the wilderness, Israel constantly tested God’s faithfulness, but Jesus responded with complete trust in God.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Luk 4:12. Εἴρηται, It is said) viz. in Scripture.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Luk 4:12 gives Christ’s reply exactly as in Mt. The nature of this reply probably explains the inversion of the order of the second and third temptations in Lk. The evangelist judged it fitting that this should be the last word, construing it as an interdict against tempting Jesus the Lord . Lk.’s version of the temptation is characterised throughout by careful restriction of the devil’s power ( vide Luk 4:1 ; Luk 4:6 ). The inversion of the last two temptations is due to the same cause. The old idea of Schleiermacher that the way to Jerusalem lay over the mountains is paltry. It is to be noted that Mt.’s connecting particles ( τότε , πάλιν ) imply sequence more than Lk.’s ( καὶ , δὲ ). On the general import of the temptation vide on Mt.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

12. Thou shalt not tempt] Rather, Thou shalt not utterly tempt, or tempt to the extreme. It is impious folly to put God to the test by thrusting ourselves into uncalled-for danger. The angels will only guard our perilous footsteps when we are walking in the path of duty. We cannot claim miracles when we court temptations. The quotation is from Deu_6:16, and it is remarkable that the three quotations with which our Lord met the tempter are all taken from the 6th and 8th chapters of this book.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Jesus answering said unto him, it is said,.... In Deu 6:16

Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God: in the text in Deuteronomy the words are, "ye shall not tempt the Lord your God." The second person plural, is here changed into the second person singular, to accommodate the words to Satan; whom Christ singly addresses, and makes answer to, and who was under this same general law as other rational creatures: and Jehovah may be called the Lord his God, as he is his creator and governor; by whom he is upheld in his being, and to whom he is subject, whether he will or not; though not his covenant God: and even if our Lord Jesus Christ is intended by the Lord God, as some think; he is God over all; over all principalities and powers, good and bad, by whom all are created, and in whom all consist; and whose power and authority over Satan and his angels, have abundantly appeared, in dispossessing devils out of men, sending them where he pleased, and in spoiling the powers of darkness, and in destroying him that had the power of death, the devil; and great insolence and wickedness it must be in a creature, to tempt the Lord his God, in any way, or form whatever; See Gill on Mat 4:7

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

12 And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

Ver. 12. {See Trapp on "Mat 4:7"}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. It is remarkable that in these crowning instances of temptation, which no doubt were originally recounted by the Lord himself to the inner circle of the disciples, and from them passed into the regular course of instruction adopted by the Christian teachers of the first days, the Redeemer, in each of his three answers to the devil, uses words taken from two chapters (the sixth and eighth) of Deuteronomy. It has been suggested that the thoughts and expressions of this book were fresh in the mind of the tempted Christ, as he had probably, specially during his sojourn in the wilderness, used for his own study and meditation a book which told the story of Israel"s wanderings in the desert for forty years. It seems, however, more likely that the Lord simply chose to frame his answers from a book with which every Israelite from his earliest yearn had been acquainted. The maxims and precepts of Deuteronomy were used in the education of every Hebrew child. Its devout and beautiful maxims were written on the phylacteries or frontiers which so many pious Jews were in the habit of wearing.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Deut. vi, 16.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

It is said

Jesus tells the devil why he will not do what the devil told him to do. His refusal to do it can be stated clearly. AT: "No, I will not do that, because it is said" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

It is said

Jesus quotes from the writings of Moses in Deuteronomy. This can be stated in active form. AT: "Moses has said" or "Moses has said in the scriptures" (See: Active or Passive)

Do not put the Lord your God to the test

Possible meanings are 1) Jesus should not test God by jumping off the temple, or 2) the devil should not test Jesus to see if he is the Son of God. It is best to translate the verse as stated rather than to try to explain the meaning.

until another time

"until another occasion"

had finished testing Jesus

This does not imply that the devil was successful in his temptation—Jesus resisted every attempt. This can be stated clearly. AT: "had finished trying to persuade Jesus to sin" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

translationWords

test

lord

tempt

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

12. οὐκ ἐκπειράσεις. If the compound be pressed it means ‘thou shalt not utterly tempt.’ It is impious folly to put God to the test by thrusting ourselves into uncalled-for danger. The angels will only guard our perilous footsteps when we are walking in the path of duty. We cannot claim miracles when we court temptations. The quotation is from Deu 6:16, and it is remarkable that the three quotations with which our Lord met the Tempter are all taken from the 6th and 8th chapters of this book.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

12. Εἴρηται. In Mt. Πάλιν γέγραπται. Jesus had appealed to Scripture; Satan does the same; and then Jesus shows that isolated texts may be misleading. They may be understood in a sense plainly at variance with some other passage. Satan had suggested that it was impossible to put too much trust in God. Christ points out that testing God is not trusting Him.

The verb ἐκπειροιζειν is wholly biblical (10:25; Mat 4:7; Psa 77:18). In the Heb. it is “Ye shall not tempt”: but in LXX we have the sing. as here.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

It is said. For Matthew's it is written, Mt 4:7. Luke omits Matthew's again. See Mt 4:7.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.